Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr.

Dean, School of Public Affairs, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science

Degrees:

Ph.D., Political Science (University of Iowa, 1983)

Bio:

Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. was appointed Dean of the UCLA Luskin School of
Public Affairs in September 2008. He is a longtime UCLA professor of public
policy and political science. His research focuses on strategic communications,
public policy, electoral politics, and racial and ethnic politics.

As Dean of the Luskin School, Gilliam raised a $50 million naming gift, and he
now leads the school’s charge to redefine its critical advantage and transform
its scholarly and practical influence with innovation and impact. Since
launching UCLA Luskin’s strategic plan in October 2011 with such new
initiatives as Global Public Affairs,
Digital Cities, and the Leadership Initiative, Dean Gilliam has focused on identifying
society’s most pressing problems and establishing the School as a leader in
addressing them.

Through teaching, research and partnerships, Global Public Affairs at Luskin
studies problems that have trans-border causes or effects, and gives UCLA Luskin
students opportunities to learn the ways in which global affairs structure our
world and explore solutions that require a global perspective.

The Leadership Initiative’s mission is to prepare graduates for leadership
roles in public service through on the job training, seminars, workshops and
academic programs. With the help of the Leadership Initiative, UCLA Luskin
students gain knowledge about the challenges that face today’s policy leaders through
firsthand interaction and opportunities to work directly with these leaders.

Since becoming dean, Gilliam has launched new campaigns to elevate the
School of Public Affairs’ mission of public service, which comprises graduate
programs in public policy, social welfare, and urban planning; an interdisciplinary
undergraduate minor in public affairs (one of UCLA’s most popular); and active
research centers, including the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, the
Institute for Transportation Studies, the Center for Policy Research on Aging,
and the Luskin Center for Innovation.

Under his leadership, the school has begun major initiatives to spotlight
and disseminate the research of faculty and students on pressing issues such as
immigration, drug policy, prison reform, low-income families and youth, health care
financing, transportation and the environment, national security, and economic
development.

In August 2013, Dean Gilliam assumed a new role as Special Advisor to the
Chancellor on Los Angeles. Over the next three years he will develop a
strategic framework centered on UCLA’s involvement in the Los Angeles region.

Prior to his appointment as Dean, Gilliam served as the first-ever associate
vice chancellor of community partnerships in the University of California
system from 2002 to 2008. As vice chancellor, he championed UCLA’s civic
engagement by supporting engaged scholarship and community collaborations to
improve the quality of life in Los Angeles.

Gilliam’s research interests include strategic communications and its
effects on shaping public policy; electoral politics; and racial and ethnic
politics. He is the author of Farther to Go: Readings and Cases in
African-American Politics (Harcourt Brace) and his work has been published
in many leading academic journals. He is frequently interviewed or cited by
national and international news outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, The
Washington Post and the BBC.

Click here to see Dean Gilliam's appearances in
various forms of media and publications.

Gilliam is a is a senior fellow with the FrameWorks Institute, where he has
served as project director for the “Framing Race in America” project and has
contributed to programs on health care, early child development, youth and
rural issues. FrameWorks designs, commissions, manages and publishes
communications research to prepare nonprofit organizations to expand their
constituency base, build public will and further public understanding of
specific social issues.

He serves on the boards of The United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Blue Shield of California.

Twice nominated for UCLA’s Luckman Distinguished Teaching Award, Gilliam has
also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Grinnell College and the
University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, and was a Visiting Scholar at Brandeis
University. In addition, he taught at Fisk University, Middle Tennessee State
University, and with former Vice President Al Gore at Columbia University. Dr.
Gilliam received his B.A. from Drake University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in
political science from the University of Iowa.